Believed to be the birthplace of yoga, Rishikesh holds a significant place in this ancient practice. Yoga is considered one of the most calming and rejuvenating practices for the mind and body.
As I am a relatively novice to yoga, I decided to attend a yoga retreat where I could be guided through enhanced yogic postures and techniques. I came across Aishwarya Sahu’s yoga retreat in Rishikesh and was immediately drawn to it. It was scheduled from November 13th to 17th at Oneness Rishikesh by Ganga Kinare, a luxurious wilderness resort in Byasi village.
This 12-private cottage resort has 2 private white-sand beaches, and the heavenly Ganges river sinuously flows by. It is only accessible by private raft, making it the perfect setting for richly enhancing luxurious yogic practices.
Surrounded by Sal, Haldu, Figs, and Mulberry trees, this resort was the perfect biodiverse haven. Plenty of wildlife, such as monkeys, black bears, special bird species, langurs, and wild cats, lived in this area.
I came from Mumbai by flight to Dehradun airport only to be taken by a brief car journey of a few hours to the resort.
On the first day, I arrived just in time for lunch and the orientation, followed by evening yoga. As soon as I entered the room, I found a handwritten welcome note from Aishwariya and a bag of herbal and healthy products.
The cottage was a 500-square-foot room with a king-sized bed that boasted beautiful views of the gardens and mountains.
Introduced to Ashtanga Yoga - a structured yoga that requires practitioners to move from one pose to the next in a specific order; every day, we held morning and evening yoga sessions for the following 5 days. What was interesting, though, was that we were told to set an intention of what we hoped to achieve before starting anything off – a clear direction of what we hoped to accomplish by the end of the retreat.
So, we had a sense of direction individually in the direction of our intentionality for the following days. Other activities such as memory plantation, a trek, painting at the beach, and a dip in the Ganga were also planned. Every evening, we had a bonfire night, where we were served some snacks and herbal/regular tea. It was truly a slice of heaven, this mini yoga retreat.
Every day for me began at 4.30 AM as my body was yet set in ‘Vipassana’ timing mode. So I usually enjoyed the cool, misty Himalayan air each morning as I had one or two cups of coffee in the room as I sat to write each morning. For the rest, each day began with a yoga session at 8 AM ( which I was a part of). As I was not so used to practising physical yogic postures, it was a bit new to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! There was a day when we practised approximately 20 Surya Namaskars!
What was exciting was the Ganga Dip, which is considered to be not only a sacred act but a fun activity where the water was beyond freezing to bear, and the art therapy that followed this activity. There was also a special full moon ritual that we practised. What I found to be the most strenuous activity was the two-hour-long uphill trek to an adjoining village and the trek and a visit to Bandarchatti Ashram. The way downhill was easier which only took 45 minutes to cover! We had a special fire ritual, which we also engaged in.
Of course, a visit to the resort would be incomplete without a treatment from the spa so I had an Abhyanga massage to take care of my tired muscles post the trek.
What stood out was the sense of community that we built up during these 5 days.
There was also an Earth altar ( a temporary art piece) that we had created to commemorate any symbol or memory of ours. I had written a letter and kept it over there. Other people also had written letters and put out personal items or natural items and other collectables. It was truly a beautiful mandala that we regularly visited on all the days. Each meal that we had at Oneness was highly well-curated and delicious to consume.
This is such a beautiful capture of the experience! ❤️
ReplyDelete